to the knowledge of all the neighborhood. When
he died, the grief there was universal and sincere.
On the day of his funeral (1 Dec, 1859), a remark-
ably mild day for the season, the village shops
were closed and draped in mourning, and both
sides of the high-road leading from the church, of
which he had been warden, to the grave by Sleepy
Hollow, where his body lies, were black with the
throngs of those who had come from far and near
to do honor to his memory. We cannot class
Washington Irving among those strenuous souls
who delve new channels for thought ; his touch in
literature is of a gentler sort. We may safely,
however, count him the best beloved among Amer-
ican authors — his character was so clean, his lan-
guage so full of grace, his sympathies so true and
wide, and his humor so genuine and abounding.
After his death appeared his " Life and Letters,"
Edited by his nephew, who also collected and edited
his " Spanish Papers and other Miscellanies " (3
vols., 1866). During Irving's lifetime, 600,000 vol-
umes of his works were sold in the United States,
and from his death till the present time (1887) the
annual sale has averaged 30,000 volumes. Of the
portraits of Irving, that by his friend. Gilbert
Stuart Newton, painted in 1820, was most es-
teemed by the family, and best liked by the au-
thor. The portrait by John Vanderlyn, painted
in 1805, that by John Wesley Jarvis, in 1810. and
that by Charles Martin, an English artist, in
1851, are well known by engravings. The Jarvis
picture was considered excellent, and with the
bust by Ball Hughes, which is also good, is still
? reserved at the Irving homestead of Sunnyside.
brtraits by Escacena, painted in Seville, Spain, in
1829, by Vogel in Dresden in 1823, and by Foy
in Paris in 1824, which are named in Pierre Ir-
ving's biography, are not known by engravings, nor
has their present ownership been traced. Sir David
Wilkie's sketch of " Washington Irving consulting
the Archives of Cordova" (25 April, 1828), which
forms the frontispiece to one of Wilkie's published
volumes, can hardly be considered a likeness. The
steel portrait that accompanies this article is from
a photograph. Busts of Irving have been set up in
Central park and in Prospect park, Brooklyn. The
latest edition of Irving's works is that published in
New York (27 vols., 12mo, 1884-'6). A tabulated list
of books and pamphlets relating to the author's
life and writings appeared in the " reference lists "
of the Providence public library for April, 1883.
In the same year was founded a Washington Irving
association at Tarrytown, which commemorated
the hundredth anniversary of the author's birth by
a public meeting and addresses, of which record
was made in a memorial volume (New York, 1884).
The standard life of Irving is that by his nephew,
Pierre M. Irving (4 vols., 1862-'3 ; memorial ed., 4to,
1883 ; German abridgment by Adolph Lann, Ber-
lin, 1870). See also William C. Bryant's address
before the New York historical society (New York,
1860); that of Henry W. Longfellow before the
Massachusetts historical society, published in its
" Proceedings " (Boston. 1860) : " Irvingiana " (New
York, 1860) ; Charles Dudley Warner's " Life of
Irving" in the "American Men of Letters" series
(Boston, 1881) ; and James Grant Wilson's " Brvant
and his Friends" (New York, 1886).— His brother,
William, merchant, b. in New York city, 15 Aug.,
1766 ; d. there, 9 Nov., 1821, engaged in commercial
pursuits, and from 1787 till 1791 was a fur-trader
with the Indians on the Mohawk river, residing at
Johnstown and Caughnawaga, N. Y. In 1793 he
settled in New York city, and married a sister of
James K. Paulding, one of the authors of •' Salma-
gundi." In the preparation of the latter work he
took an active part, contributing most of the politi-
cal pieces " from the mill of Pindar Cockloft." He
also furnished hints and sketches for several of the
prose articles, as the letters of " Mustapha " in
Nos. 5 and 14, which were elaborated by his brother
Washington. His extensive experience, combined
with his wit and genial mariners, made his house a
literary centre, and although his poetical and other
contributions to " Salmagundi," if issued separately,
would have given him a distinct place among
American humorists, he was entirely unambitious
of literary fame. He was elected to congress three
times as a Democrat, serving from 22 Jan., 1814. till
1818, when he resigned in consequence of declining
health. — Another brother, Peter, author, b. in
New York city, 30 Oct., 1771 ; d. there, 27 June,
1838, was graduated as a physician in Columbia in
1794, but never practised his profession. In Octo-
ber, 1802, he began the publication of the " Morn-
ing Chronicle," a Democratic newspaper, which
advocated the election of Aaron Burr to the presi-
dency. Among the contributors were the editor's
brothers, Washington and John Treat, J. K. Paul-
ding, William A. Duer, and Randolph Bunner. In
1807 he travelled in Europe, and on his return
projected, with his brother Washington, the work
that the latter developed into " Knickerbocker's
History of New York." He again visited Europe
in 1809, established himself in business there, and
remained until 1836. During his residence abroad
he published " Giovanni Sbogarro, a Venetian
Tale " (New York, 1820).— Another brother, John
Treat, lawyer, b. in New York city in 1778; d.
there, 18 March, 1838, was graduated at Columbia
in 1798. He studied law, was admitted to the bar,
and from 1817 until his death served as presiding
judge of the New York court of common pleas.
By his contributions to his brother's " Chronicle "
he acquired some reputation through his poetical
attacks on his political opponents. " He was," says
the biographer of Washington Irving, " a man of
perfect uprightness and great refinement of char-
acter, and enjoyed through life the high respect of
the community. In his earlier days he had some-
thing of a literary turn, which, however, was soon
quenched under the dry details of the law and the
resolute fidelity with which he gave himself up
to the claims of his profession." — William's son,
Pierre Munroe, lawyer, b. in 1803 ; d. in New
York city, 11 Feb., 1876. was graduated at Colum-
bia in 1821, studied law, and was admitted to the
bar. Meeting his uncle, Washington, in Spain in
1826, during a " youthful tour of Europe, he, at
the latter's request, took charge of the work of get-
ting the "Life of Columbus" correctly through
the press in London. Subsequently he acted as
his uncle's literary assistant, managed his business
affairs, and attended him in his last illness. Some
years before his death, Washington Irving appoint-
ed Pierre his biographer, and in 1862-'3 the latter
published " The Life and Letters of Washington
Irving " (New York). He also edited his uncle's
" Spanish Papers and Other Miscellanies " (1866). —
Theodore, educator, son of Washington's brother,
Ebenezer, b. in New York city, 9 May, 1809 ; d.
there, 20 Dec, 1880. joined his "uncle in Spain, and
remained three years abroad, attending lectures
and devoting himself to the study of modern lan-
guages. He subsequently read law in London and
New York. In 1836 he was appointed professor of
history and belles-lettres in Geneva (now Hobart)
college, where he remained until 1848, when he
accepted the corresponding chair in the Free
academy (now College of the city) of New York.
Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/393
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